Self-surface conforming and self-locking foot for ironing table leg



@ct. M, W66 K B. OLANDER 3,278,147

SELF-SURFACE CONfiORMING AND SELF-LOCKING FOOT FOR IRONING TABLE LEGFiled Feb. 2, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 WWW! . VFNYTOR. F /(EMUL'-'A B;049M051? i 11, 1966 B. OLANDER 3,278,147

K. SELF-SURFACE CONFORMING AND SELF-LOCKING FOOT FOR IRONING TABLE LEGFiled Feb. 2, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 PIE; 5

35 6 f l8 i A 5 2 5' INVFNTOR. Kawmm B, QAIQWDER Oct. 11, 1966 K B.OLANDER 3,278,147

SELF-SURFACE CONFORMING AND SELF-LOCKING FOOT FOR IRONING TABLE LEGFiled Feb. 2, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIGS INVENTOR. IKE/Wu?! B. aim/DER 4Yawn/Em United States Patent 3,278,147 SELF-SURFACE CONFORMING ANDSELF-LOCK- IN G FOOT FOR IRONING TABLE LEG Kemuel B. Olander,Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to John R. Clark, Minuetonka Beach, Minn.Filed Feb. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 429,783 6 Claims. (Cl. 248-1883) Thisinvention relates generally to the supporting structure for an ironingboard and particularly concerns a cross foot assembly on an ironingtable leg which is adapted to tilt laterally to conform or adjust to thefloor surface as it is placed thereagainst and then automatically lockrelative to the leg in self adjusted position.

In modern conventional ironing table construction a pair of leg unitsare arranged in longitudinally intercrossing relation under the ironingboard with one of the leg units carrying a rigid transverse foot adaptedfor two point contact with the floor surface. For maximum stability itis desirable that the other leg unit also have a foot with transverselyspaced two point contact. However, when such other foot is also rigidlymounted on its leg, so as to present rigid four point contact with thefloor, the structure will wobble where there is any irregularity in thefloor surface or Where there are mechanical imperfections in the legstructure.

It is accordingly desirable that one of the cross feet be pivotallyassociated with its carrying leg so that it might automatically conformto the surface. It is further desirable for greatest stability that thefoot be locked to the leg in its surface conforming position.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a cross footfor an ironing tab-1e leg which is freely pivotable on the leg as longas only one end of the foot is in lowering engagement with the floorwhereby the foot will automatically tilt to adjust to the floor surfacebut which will immediately lock itself to the :leg in adjusted positionwith continued lowering movement after both ends of the foot are engagedwith the floor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a self adjusting andlocking foot for an ironing table leg which will positively lock in theprecise adjusted position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a self adjustingcross foot assembly for an ironing table leg which comprises two footmembers pivoted on a common axis and which members are identical inconstruction for economy of manufacture.

With these objects in view the invention broadly comprises a pair offeet mounted at the lower end of an ironing table leg to extend inopposite directions therefrom with their inner ends pivoted to the legfor raising and lowering movement of the feet, .an anchor rod on the legadjacent the pivots, a clutch plate slidable on the anchor rod, andmeans connecting the inner ends of the feet to the clutch plate to tiltthe clutch plate into frictional locking engagement with the rod whenboth feet are raised relative to their pivots.

The above mentioned and still additional objects of the invention willbe brought to light during the course of the following specification,reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the foot structure as it is being loweredinto, but prior to engagement with, an irregular floor surface.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the foot structure after it has come torest upon an irregular floor surface.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the foot structure.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal vertical section throughthe structure taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section through the structure taken online 55 of FIG. 1.

3,278,147 Patented Oct. 11, 1966 FIG. 6 is a transverse vertical sectionthrough the structure taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged horizontal section through the structure taken online 77 of FIG. 2, and thus is like FIG. 5 but shows the structure in adifferent condition.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the structure inrest position as in FIG. 2 and partially broken away to show the lockingmechanism.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the foot structure locking mechanismdisassembled from the other parts of the structure.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numerals willbe used to denote like parts or structural features in the differentviews. It is to be presumed that the member denoted at 10 is the lowerend portion of an ironing table leg which extends diagonally andlongitudinally downward from an ironing board to, in combination withother leg means, support the board horizontally over a floor surface F.It is also presumed for the purpose of this description that the leg 10is the front table leg and accordingly that FIGS. 1 and 2 are frontviews and that the terms forward and rearward will be used with thisorientation in mind. The structure could, of course, also be effectivelyused on the rear leg of the table.

An elongated housing 11 is connected as by bolts or rivets 12 to extendendwise from leg 10. This housing 11 is formed of upper and lowersections having overlapping side flanges and which are held together bytabs 14 on the upper section extending through slots in the lowersection, as shown in FIG. 3. The lower ends of the housing sectionsextend vertically downward in spaced relation as at 15 and 16 to formfoot supports. A pivot bolt or pin 17 extends in a fore and aftdirection between the supports 15 and 16 and rigidly interconnects thesame. An arcuate anchor rod 18 extends transversely between the sidewalls of the housing 11 above the pivot pin 17. This rod is mounted inplace by means of anchor plates 19 which are apertured to receive theflattened ends 20 of the rod. The plates 19 are welded to the side wallsof the housing 11. The rod 18 has an arched configuration with theradius thereof being preferably slightly greater than the distance frompin 17 to the rod. It will be understood that leg 10, housing 11, pin 17and rod 18 are thus integrally and irnmovab ly related.

A fiat locking bar or clutch plate 21 of hardened steel or othermaterial harder than the rod 18 is centrally apertured as a 22 forreceiving the rod 18 so thatthe plate is actually mounted on the rod forsliding movement therealong in a transverse direction. The aperture 22has sharp edges and is slightly larger in diameter than the rod 18 so asto allow limited side to side tilting movement thereon. It is desirablethat when the plate is tilted ap proximately ten degrees from a planeperpendicular to the rod, the edges of the aperture will come into tightbiting engagement with the front and rear sides of the rod 18.

The foot assembly designated generally at 24 comprises two identicalfeet 25 and 26. Each foot has an elongated tapering design with ananti-skid element or tip 27 mounted on the underside of the outer narrowend and a pair of mounting plates mounted on the inner larger end. Theright foot 25, so identified because it is to the right lookingforwardly along the table, has a hinge plate 28 and a lever plate 29both extending endwise from the large end of the foot and beingrespectively welded to the rear and front walls of the foot. Both plates28 and 29 are journaled on the pin 17 for up and down swinging movementof the outer tip end of the foot. Similarly the other or left foot 26has a hinge plate 30 and a lever plate 31 which are identical to plates28 and 29 and also journaled on pin 17. The two plates on each foot areequally spaced so that when they are mounted on pin 17 the hinge platesare located between the lever plates.

The lever plates 29 and 31 extend upwardly from the pin 17 and havevertical slots 32 and 33 punched in their upper portions for respectivereception of the front and rear end portions of the clutch plate 21. Itwill be noted that the portions punched from slots 32 and 33 are bentover to form inwardly projecting tabs denoted respectively at 34 and 35the purpose of which will be subsequently explained.

The operation of the device will now be understood. As the foot assemblyis lowered toward the floor, as in FIG. 1, it will be in loose conditionwith the clutch plate extending directly fore and aft (FIGS. 5 and 6).The weight of the feet 25 and 26 transmitted through the lever plates 29and 31 will pull the tabs 34 and 35 against the opposite ends of theplate 21. The tabs thus serve to retain the plate 21 perpendicular tothe rod 18 when the assembly is loose. Thus, if one foot tip shouldengage the floor surface prior to the other, the entire assembly (bothfeet) will move about the pivot 17 until the other foot tip engages thesurface. The assembly accordingly automatically adjusts itself toconform to the surface F.

After both feet have made contact with the floor surface, and as theweight of the table is placed to rest thereon, they will both moverelatively upward about the axis of pin 17. As this takes place thelever plates 29 and 31 will move in opposite directions and tilt theplate 21 on the anchor rod 18 until the plate edges forming the aperture22 bite into opposite sides of the rod, thus locking the feet ot the rodin their adjusted positions. As hereinbefore indicated it is preferredthat the relative diameters of the rod 18 and aperture 22 be such thatsuch gripping or interlocking action take place when the plate hastilted about ten degrees. When the feet 25 and 26 have been so locked inadjusted position with plate 21 being clinched between plates 29 and 31and the rod 18, the feet become rigidly associated with the leg so as toprovide a firm base for the leg and the ironing board supported thereby.

As soon as the weight of the table is removed from the feet 25 and 26,the bar 21 is released and the feet will resume their loose conditionand again be free for automatic adjustment about the pin 17.

It is important to note that with this assembly the locking is positiveand is accomplished automatically and precisely at any position ofadjustment with the number of such positions being infinite. Theinvention accordingly economically and effectively carries out theaforementioned objectives.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in thestructure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within thespirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fullyillustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new anddesire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a support structure for an ironing table, a downwardly extendingleg, a pair of elongated feet extending laterally in opposite directionsfrom the leg and having their inner ends pivoted to the lower endportion of the leg on a common axis, means limiting downward movement ofthe feet about the pivot, and means interconnecting the feet adjacentthe pivot permitting limited relative upward movement of the feet aboutthe pivot and then locking the feet to the leg against further upwardmovement whereby as the outer ends of the feet are lowered against afloor surface the feet will conform thereto and move upwardly about thepivot into locking engagement with the leg.

2. In a self adjusting and locking foot structure for an ironing tableleg extending in fore and aft direction under an ironing board, a pairof elongated feet extending laterally outward in opposite directionsfrom the leg and having their inner ends pivoted thereto at the samelevel, an anchor rod mounted on the leg to extend laterally thereof, aclutch plate slidable on the anchor rod but adapted to frictiona'llylock therewith when tilted relative to the rod, each foot carrying alever plate adjacent its inner end, said lever plates being connected tothe clutch plate on opposite sides of the anchor rod to tilt the clutchplate as the feet are moved upwardly about their pivotal connections.

3. The subject matter of claim 2 wherein the feet are pivoted to the legon a common pivot axis.

4. The subject matter of claim 2 wherein each lever plate has a slotopening in a fore and aft direction, and said clutch plate having itsfore and aft end portions resting in said slots.

5. In a leg structure for an ironing table having a leg extendingforwardly and downwardly under the table top, a pair of elongated feetextending laterally outward in opposite directions from the lower endportion of the leg and having their inner ends pivoted thereto on acommon fore and aft axis, a floor engagement tip on the outer end ofeach foot, an anchor rod mounted on the leg above the pivot andextending transversely of the leg, an elongated clutch plate having anopening therethrough for receiving the rod and being so mounted on therod and perpendicular thereto to extend in a fore and aft direction fortransverse sliding movement along the rod, said opening beingsufficiently greater than the cross sectional area of the rod to allowlimited sideward tilting of the plate from its perpendicular positioninto frictional locking engagement with the rod, the inner end portionsof said feet being respectively connected to the clutch plate one to thefront of and the other to the rear of said rod whereby as the floorengagement tips on the feet are both raised about the pivot the clutchplate will be tilted into such locking engagement with the rod.

6. The subject matter of claim 5 wherein the clutch plate is formed of aharder material than the anchor rod and wherein the edges thereonforming said opening are relatively sharp.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,440,847 5/ 1948Charley 248-4882 2,787,087 4/1957 Whitman 248-1883 2,889,099 6/ 1959 Pulkin 182200 FOREIGN PATENTS 234,308 6/1964 Austria.

CLAUDE A. LEROY, Primary Examiner.

R. P. SEITIER, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR AN IRONING TABLE, A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDINGLEG, A PAIR OF ELONGATED FEET EXTENDING LATERALLY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONSFROM THE LEG AND HAVING THEIR INNER ENDS PIVOTED TO THE LOWER ENDPORTION OF THE LEG ON A COMMON AXIS, MEANS LIMITING DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OFTHE FEET ABOUT THE PIVOT, AND MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE FEED ADJACENTTHE PIVOT PERMITTING LIMITED RELATIVE UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE FEET ABOUTTHE PIVOT AND THEN LOCKING THE FEET TO THE LEG AGAINST FURTHER UPWARDMOVEMENT WHEREBY AS THE OUTER ENDS OF THE FEET ARE LOWERED AGAINST AFLOOR SURFACE THE FEET WILL CONFORM THERETO AND MOVE UPWARDLY ABOUT THEPIVOT INTO LOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LEG.